Obertubbesing, a lawyer who has worked for the insurance agency for about 10 years, said he was wrongfully ordered to an "interrogation" after his name appeared in stories about Hinton's predicament. He said he was interrogated by SIF officials Feb. 25, three weeks after the story about Hinton appeared in the Times Union.

The directive to show up for the "interrogation" arrived on the day the newspaper revealed Obertubbesing had sought protection from harm under the state whistleblower's law, which safeguards people who come forward to report abuses and waste.

Several people, including state workers, have since contacted the newspaper to confidentially say Hinton's case is not an isolated one. Darcy Wells, a spokeswoman for the Public Employees Federation, which represents Obertubbesing, said PEF members claim retaliation for speaking out is "pretty regular or a fairly common occurrence."

State Insurance Fund spokesman Robert Lawson said the agency has no comment, because it received the bias claim Thursday.

In his complaint, Obertubbesing said he should not have faced an interrogation, because such proceedings are for people who are likely to be subject to a disciplinary action.

SIF officials later said the session was actually an "interview" to investigate the Hinton retaliation claim.

"It is apparent and clear that the purposes of that interrogation were to harass, intimidate and retaliate against me for having opposed and spoken out regarding alleged discrimination towards Randall Hinton and for having exercised my constitutionally protected free speech rights," Obertubbesing said in his complaint.

In an interview, he said he filed the complaint in part to get the state to pick up costs of the private lawyer he hired after being called to the interrogation.

Hinton alleges he has had virtually nothing to do for years because superiors have discriminated against him.

Hinton settled a discrimination suit in 2002 by agreeing to move from the Department of Environmental Conservation to the State Insurance Fund as director of investigations, where he says discrimination has continued. He has told the Times Union that he sits in his office without anything to do. He receives $94,000 annually. Obertubbesing told the newspaper that when Hinton arrived at the insurance agency from DEC top brass at SIF told him not to give him meaningful work.

Since the Hinton story was reported, all the top officers of the State Insurance Fund have been replaced. SIF is a non-profit agency that provides workers' compensation insurance.

Hinton continues to have little to do, said Kevin Luibrand, his attorney.